NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Jan. 14, 2020--Visa Inc.'s planned acquisition of Plaid, a company whose network allows financial technology (fintech) companies to connect their apps to consumers' bank accounts, will add diversification in a fast-growing area but will also cause its leverage to rise moderately. In our view, the $5.3 billion acquisition also reflects the desire of Visa and other financial services companies to keep up with and benefit from the rapid advancements taking place in fintech. The acquisition, announced on Jan. 13, 2020, has no immediate impact on our 'AA-/A-1+' ratings on Visa largely because the company's currently low leverage, strong EBITDA generation and expected future growth allow it to make acquisitions and investments without substantially weakening its
